Interior flooring

What to consider

Foot traffic and grit

In the UAE, fine sand carried in on shoes acts like abrasive paper on a floor. Entrances, corridors and lift lobbies wear first. Granite is generally hard-wearing, but polished faces still lose gloss in walking lines over time. Plan entrance matting from the start.

Finish and slip

Polished stone floors can be slippery when wet or dusty. Kitchens, bathrooms, entrances that get rain or cleaning water, and areas near pools need particular thought. The slip requirement for a floor is set by your designer or specifier; we hold no slip-resistance test data.

Joint layout

Set out the floor from a main doorway or the room centreline so cut tiles fall at the edges, not in the middle of the view. Decide between a stack bond and an offset for 60 × 30 cm tiles, and the direction of tiles relative to the main light source. Joint width is set by your installer.

Tiles or cut slabs

Tiles are ready to lay and quick to replace. Larger pieces cut from slabs give fewer joints but add cutting, handling and the need for a very flat substrate. Large pieces also show lippage (uneven edges) more, so they demand a skilled installer.

Floor levels

Stone thickness plus the bedding layer sets the finished floor level. Check door clearances, thresholds into other rooms and the meeting point with existing floors before choosing between 20 mm and 30 mm.

Limitations and when to get technical advice

Dark Emperador marble is softer than granite: in busy, sandy areas a polished marble floor will scratch and dull in walking lines, and acids etch it, so it usually needs periodic professional re-polishing. Floors in wet areas, commercial kitchens, near pools or at external doors involve slip safety that must be specified by a designer with test evidence, which we do not hold. Floors over raised access systems, timber or suspended structures, floors carrying trolleys or vehicles, and floors with underfloor heating need installer or engineer review. Black Marquina’s family is unconfirmed (the trade name usually means a marble), so do not assume granite behaviour. Send any of these cases for technical review.

Finish

Finishes are not recorded in our catalogue, so each product’s finish is confirmed in your quotation. In general, polished floors reflect light and are easy to mop, but show scratches from grit and are slippery when wet. Honed floors have a matt look, hide minor scratches and are usually less slippery than polished, though not automatically safe for wet areas. Textured finishes such as flamed or brushed are rougher underfoot but are harder to clean; whether they are available for a given product must be confirmed. See our finishes guide.

Thickness

Our granite tiles are mostly 20 mm, with three 60 × 30 cm products in 30 mm. Granite and marble slabs are offered in 20 mm and 30 mm, and porcelain slabs in 15 mm. A 20 mm tile is a common interior floor thickness; 30 mm adds weight and height and is sometimes chosen for heavier use or where a contractor’s detail calls for it. The right thickness depends on the substrate, bedding method and load, which your installer or engineer confirms.

What to measure

Measure each room separately in metres (length × width), and list rooms with recesses or angled walls as separate rectangles. Note which rooms connect, so the layout can run continuously. Approximate figures are fine for an initial quotation.

• Room length (m)
• Room width (m)
• Total floor area (m²)
• Skirting length (lm), if stone skirting is needed
• Number of door thresholds
• Preferred format (60×60, 60×30 or 60×10 cm tile, or cut slab)

State the floor area in square metres (m²) per room and in total. Your installer will add an allowance for cutting waste: it is usually smaller for a straight layout in rectangular rooms and larger for diagonal patterns, herringbone or rooms with many corners. Ask your installer for their figure rather than guessing. Consider ordering a small reserve of spare tiles from the same lot for future repairs, because a later lot may not match.

What we supply

We supply tiles and slabs. Laying, bedding, grouting, movement joints, cutting on site and any polishing after installation are carried out by your contractor or installer. Some past deliveries have included cut items such as skirting and landings; if you need skirting or thresholds cut to size, list them and we will confirm whether that can be arranged before quoting.

Site conditions to tell us

• Substrate type and flatness: a cured, level screed is the usual base for stone.
• Finished floor level, door clearances and thresholds to adjoining floors.
• Whether an existing floor is being removed or overlaid.
• Moisture in new screeds and any underfloor heating.
• Where pallets can be stored on site without overloading a slab or blocking access.
• Whether the area is occupied during the works (for example a lived-in villa).

Natural variation

Floor tiles are cut from many blocks, so shade and pattern vary from tile to tile and crate to crate. Installers commonly mix tiles from several crates as they lay, so variation spreads evenly instead of appearing as patches. Order the whole floor at once where possible and ask for a single lot. Speckled materials such as Colonial White or Black Galaxy generally hide variation better than strongly moving ones such as Black Forest. See natural variation.

Technical documents

If your designer, consultant or client needs technical documents such as test reports, data sheets or certificates, list them in your request and we will tell you what can be provided for the materials you choose.

What affects the cost

• Format: ready tiles or slabs that must be cut into floor pieces.
• Material and grade (Standard, Premium or Extra; meanings confirmed with your quotation).
• Thickness: 30 mm tiles and slabs use more stone than 20 mm.
• Total area plus the waste allowance your layout requires.
• Extra items such as skirting, thresholds and spare tiles.
• Whether one lot is required for the full area.
• Delivery address, offloading and the number of drops.

Delivery preparation

Tiles usually arrive in crates or on pallets that are heavy for their size. Check where they will be offloaded and stored, keep them dry and flat, and spread the load on upper floors rather than stacking all crates in one spot. Open and check crates before laying begins, not after. Delivery terms are confirmed in your quotation; see delivery preparation and granite flooring in UAE heat.

Samples and viewing

Ask whether a sample tile or a yard visit is possible. For floors, seeing several tiles side by side is more useful than one piece, because it shows the range of shade you will actually get.

Care

Remove grit daily with a dry dust mop or vacuum, and use mats at entrances. Mop with a pH-neutral stone cleaner; avoid vinegar, bleach and acidic tile cleaners, especially on marble. Wipe spills promptly. Check whether the floor and grout need sealing with a water-drop test. Plan for polished floors to need occasional professional restoration in the busiest areas. See the granite care guide.

Alternatives

Our porcelain slabs (80 × 240 cm, 15 mm) give large, marble-look pieces with fewer joints and a manufactured, more repeatable pattern; their floor suitability and slip performance depend on the product and finish, which should be confirmed with the manufacturer’s data. Dark Emperador marble gives warmth and veining but needs more care than granite; see granite vs marble. Granite tiles are generally the most robust choice in our range for busy interiors, while cut granite slabs suit statement areas such as entrance halls.